Doctor barred from doing Lasik surgeries

A state regulatory agency is barring a Chicago ophthalmologist from performing Lasik eye surgeries in Illinois, one of a number of disciplinary actions taken against the doctor Friday.

After finding that Dr. Nicholas Caro had engaged in unprofessional conduct and gross negligence, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation suspended his medical license for 30 days, placed him on probation for a minimum of 3 years and banned him from performing procedures aimed at changing the curvature of the cornea, which includes Lasik surgeries.

The story revealed that the state's chief medical prosecutor, Lisa Stephens, recommended in 2008 that Caro's medical license be "suspended, revoked, or otherwise disciplined" because the ophthalmologist had allegedly mishandled Lasik surgeries and failed to properly manage treatment of post-operative complications.

Yet Caro continued to perform eye surgeries, highlighting ongoing concerns about the aggressiveness of the watchdog agency charged with punishing bad doctors.

On Friday, Stephens said the disciplinary actions will protect the public.

"We addressed the issues that were part of our formal complaint and we addressed them the best way we could," Stephens said. "If he can't do those things anymore, then future patients can't be hurt by him."

Attempts to reach Caro for comment were unsuccessful.

Lasik is an elective surgical procedure in which a laser is used to change the shape of the cornea, the clear covering of the front of the eye. Lasik, which stands for laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis, is intended to reduce a person's dependence on glasses or contact lenses. The procedure is one of the most common cosmetic surgeries performed in the U.S.

According to the Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Co., which insures about 30 percent of U.S. ophthalmologists, about 75 percent of the specialists who practice at least 25 years have three or fewer lawsuits or malpractice claims in their career.

The Tribune checked the records of more than a dozen other Lasik doctors in the Chicago area and found none had been sued for malpractice more than 12 times; most had far fewer lawsuits.

Of the almost 50 lawsuits against Caro, some 29 were filed in the past decade.

Lawsuits, depositions and documents compiled by state regulators describe patients repeatedly seeking treatment from the doctor for painful or worrisome complications.

One of those patients, Joseph Smith, was pleased to learn of Caro's punishment.

"I'm glad that he doesn't have the chance to hurt somebody else like he messed up my eyes," said Smith, who is suing Caro. "It's good that they finally did something about him."

Under the conditions of Caro's probation, he is required to hire a licensed physician, approved by the regulatory agency, to oversee his practice.

In addition to the lifetime ban on doing refractory procedures, such as Lasik, Caro will not be allowed to perform intraocular procedures in his medical office, which include cataract surgery, corneal transplantation and refractive lens exchange or clear lens extraction.

Caro has said that he has performed about 25,000 eye procedures in 25 years.